Passenger Cars on the AP&G: A Japanese Brass Baggage Car

This beautiful Japanese-made brass model was purchased for the Albion, Pawtuxet, & Gallilee Railroad -- my mythical 1880s Rhode Island line -- so the inhabitants of Rhode Island would have a place for packages and valises when they made the long voyage across this tiny state, whose small size seems to magnify distances: Rhode Islanders still sometimes joke that they pack a suitcase when they drive more than 20 minutes to the mall, and once or twice a year the local newpaper carries a story about some 70-year-old in central Falls who has never visited Providence — five minutes away by automobile. So, you see, a railroad for Little Rhody absolutely needs a place for all that baggage one needs on long trips.

For some reason, this beautiful detailed model with truss-rods, handrails, and fine surface texture never made it to the AP&G paint shops, and so it remains in its original condition, a bit tarnished after two decades but otherwise in perfect shape. The label underneath the car reads "Handcrafted in Japan for Smart Products New York, N. Y." As of June 2005, this bit of rolling stock was sold to a railroad in Florida. It's not clear if Augustus Melmotte pocketed the cash and forgot to enter the sale in the AP&G books, or if he did the right thing.